Thursday, February 28, 2008

Thursday: Minding the Civilization

City Solicitor George Specter stopped short of saying the arrangement complied with the city code. Trading old billboards for new "has a long history going back a number of years," he said. "And quite frankly, I'm still trying to unravel most of it."

He said he'll be able to produce a legal opinion in a few weeks. (P-G, Rich Lord)

Wow. A stumper!

"This is a process that actually began under Mayor Tom Murphy's administration, continued through Mayor O'Connor and then obviously now in my administration," [Ravenstahl] said.

Objection, irrelevant.

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Mr. Roosevelt, who in October proposed closing Schenley, said that new data warrant another look at whether the building can be saved. The board last night said it wants the superintendent to make a recommendation on the building in May. (P-G, Eleanor Chute)

What new data? Really, it's very interesting.

Long story short, either way the band is breaking up for at least a couple of years.

The 174 students now in the robotics technology magnet at Pittsburgh Schenley will be included in the move to Reizenstein in Shadyside, but their magnet courses will be given at Pittsburgh Peabody High School in East Liberty.

Incoming ninth-graders in the magnet will be assigned to Peabody.Instead of moving with the Schenley group, students entering the ninth grade in the international studies program this fall will be assigned to Pittsburgh Frick, which now serves grades six through eight in an international studies magnet.

The board also agreed to open University Prep 6-12 at the Milliones building in the Hill District this fall, starting with ninth-graders who previously would have been assigned to Schenley as their feeder pattern. This new school is not expected to be temporary.

Other grades will be phased in. The following year, grades six to eight will be added.

Everybody got that?

If the building that housed Schenley High School is to be saved, will anything like it still be preserved? Will it continue to be governed by the liberal egalitarian underpinnings that make up its DNA?

That is, will they continue to be Spartans? Will we choose to enhance or strengthen its legacy with more modern ideas?

Or will it all become a monument to something else entirely?

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Four Pittsburgh Public Works supervisors collected more than $26,400 in overtime pay they weren't entitled to in 2006 and 2007, city records show. (Trib, Jeremy Boren)

You can watch the entire meeting on pghboe.net (under NEWS select PPS TV on the WEB). It is 3 hours long at least. I think few want to report on this because it is so very confusing and nobody wants to make a reporting mistake. I heard today that the 9th graders going to Frick will be able to tryout for and participate on sports teams at Schenley. Sadly, I can say I understand EVERYBODY's positions. Everyone seems to have valid opinions which makes taking a side very hard.

Sure they can be on the teams or so I've been told (as can the Milliones kids, as far as I know).

However, they have to get there, schedules have to be configured so they aren't always late to practice (so will their school start at what? 7 am?).

Band, chorus, art, electives all occur doing the school day. No access to those. Will they send over itinerant teachers? Everyone gets to take the same elective (making it what? a compulsive?).

There are so many questions and so little good planning.

Other question:

What's up with the gifted program, I've heard two different people say that it's gone as a pull-out at the end of this year. I've heard they're renovating in Greenway/PCA already, for administration use. I've heard they are going to "services provided at the home school." Just rumors? Or another no input decision process?

I do know of a committee formed more than a year ago to look at Gifted Ed and parents were included on the committee. I have no kids at the Gifted Center, but do expect if it is moved to a home school base it will be watered down. So much comes down to money. There are often opportunities for parents to be engaged and offer opinions. Ask schools to report on the attendance numbers for PTO, PTA and PSCC meetings. The numbers go down with every meeting all school year long.

RE:public works...."However, Public Works Director Guy Costa said OMI is scrutinizing improper overtime payments made to four supervisors in the Public Works Department's Environmental Services Division."Once again the"Teflon Director"is caught sleeping at the switch.Whatever happened with a Department Director overseeing payroll for their department???

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